There are no better days than balmy ones, out at sea, for an easy salad, which can be put together in minutes. Quick and easy, but, by no means, unsatisfying, or boring. Quality ingredients and ‘proper’ dressings are key to the best tasting salads.
[First published in Spinnaker magazine, July 2011 issue]
Hummus, Feta and Wild Sumac Salad
The combination of hummus, a quality, barrel-aged feta and the citrusy notes of the sumac, is uniquely tasty and refreshing. The ingredients go on half a toasted, local ftira, so you can prepare a half per person on a serving dish, and serve the green salad in a separate bowl. Guests can help themselves at leisure, in between glasses of a crisp Pinot Bianco.
Makes 2
For the ftira
1 local ftira, halved
around 200g hummus
150g barrel-aged feta cheese
50g Tenuta di Forci’s marinated olives
a couple of pinches of Arabica Food & Spice’s wild sumac
40g Seggiano oven-dried cherry tomatoes
For the side salad
Local rocket leaves
Oak leaf lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
80g Seggiano roasted onions
For the dressing
Arabica Food & Spice’s Pomegranate and Orange Blossom Vinegar
Seggiano Extra Virgin Olive Oil – it has the right amount of pungency for a dressing
Seggiano Acacia Honey
Drizzle the ftira halves with extra virgin olive oil. Place under a hot grill. Take out when nice and golden, and spread with a generous helping of hummus. With your fingers, roughly break the feta cheese over the hummus. Top with marinated olives, oven-dried cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with wild sumac.
Drizzle very lightly with olive oil and place on a serving dish.
Toss the lettuce and rocket leaves with fresh cherry tomatoes and roasted onions in a serving bowl.
Mix equal amounts of the olive oil and the vinegar with some honey [a teaspoon or two, depending on how much dressing you need]. Shake very well until it has a thick-ish consistency. Coat the salad lightly just before you serve, and finish off with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
Smoked Trout and Avocado Salad
Smoked trout is beautifully delicate in taste and marries so well with an avocado that’s just rightly ripe. Keep the avocado looking good by squeezing some lemon over it. Oliveology’s 17ºC organic, limited edition oil is the dressing for this salad. Made from unripe Koroneiki olives and crushed with fresh lemons, oranges and thyme, it gives an exquisite citrus twist to a superior Greek oil.
Makes 2
100g packet of Friultrota’s smoked trout
1 avocado
1 lemon
Local rocket leaves
Oak leaf lettuce
Toasted slivered almonds – you can prepare these well in advance and keep in an airtight container
50g Aragon Spanish olives
Oliveology 17ºC Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Half the avocado and cut each half into slices. Place over a bed of oak leaf lettuce and rocket leaves. Add slices of the smoked trout. Scatter a few Aragon black olives and slivered almonds. Grate the rind of the lemon over the fish. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the avocado and finish off with a drizzle of the Oliveology oil.
Roast Artichoke Heart, Jamon Serrano and Manchego Salad
Our Jamon Serrano – Spanish cured ham – hails from Teruel, a remote and mountainous town in the Teruel province. It is one of the most arid areas of Spain, providing the perfect, natural environment for the curing process of the ham. Marry this with Seggiano’s roast artichoke hearts and Villarejo’s unpastuerised Manchego from Cuenca and you have simple perfection on a plate, and in a matter of minutes.
Makes 2
Local rocket leaves
Oak leaf lettuce
6 Seggiano’s roast artichoke hearts
16 slices Teruel Jamon Serrano
50g Villarejo Manchego cheese
Toasted pine nuts
For the dressing
Seggiano’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Valdespino Sherry Vinegar
Seggiano Acacia Honey
Arrange the oak leaf lettuce and rocket leaves in a serving bowl. Quarter the artichoke hearts and place randomly over the leaves. Place loosely-twisted Serrano ham slices and shave the Manchego over the salad. Scatter the pine nuts and drizzle lightly with acacia honey. Mix one part vinegar with two parts olive oil very well and dress the salad just before serving.
The above is just a small selection of salads available at The White Sheep, also for take-out, along with bespoke food boxes. All products used are exclusively available at The White Sheep, as is the hummus, which is freshly done by Sarah & Tania every morning.
